The partnership with the National Science Foundation and U.S. Ignite saw more than $1.2 million go to 90 projects improving local education and workforce opportunities in its six years.

“Each of these promising projects leverages lightning-fast internet to make a positive impact in their communities,” said Lindsey Frost Dodson, the fund’s director. “This work—being led by school districts, nonprofits, and for-profits—can create more connected, open, and innovative U.S. cities.”

The Virtual Reality Ecoliteracy Curriculum in Lafayette uses VR to illustrate the effects of climate change and coastal erosion on “climate refugees”—displaced Native Americans belonging to the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw tribe in coastal Louisiana.